Siding box assembly

ABSTRACT

A siding block comprising an electrical junction box and a cover for mounting a light fixture to the exterior of a building. The electrical junction box includes a back wall, a front peripheral wall, and a recessed area within the back wall having one or more removable wall sections within the recessed area. One or more of the removable wall sections can be removed and an electrical cable connector inserted therein to provide strain relief attachment of an electrical cable therein. The electrical junction box includes two or more posts integral with and extending from the front peripheral wall and including fastener-accepting portions. The cover includes a central opening and a rear peripheral wall surrounding the central opening. The rear peripheral wall of the cover is adapted to slidingly engage the front peripheral wall of the electrical junction box in such a manner that the fastener accepting portions of the posts are situated within the rear peripheral wall of the cover when the cover and the electrical junction box are slidingly engaged.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to electrical junction boxes and specifically toa siding box assembly for simplifying the task of mounting a lightfixture on the exterior of a building.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many homeowners find it desirable to improve the attractiveness andnighttime visibility around their homes by installing exterior lightingfixtures. Many of these are mounted directly to the outside surface ofthe house. Several prior art enclosures are available for accommodatingexterior wall-mounted electrical fixtures. These commonly featureseveral separate configurations to accommodate various types ofelectrical devices, such as light fixtures, duplex receptacles, orswitches.

Modern construction techniques typically increase the complexity ofmounting exterior electrical fixtures. The exterior surface of a homemay typically include irregular shaped surfaces, such as lapped siding,which does not present the desired flat surface for accommodating atypically box-shaped mounting block. For some exterior finishes, such asthose with stucco finishes, the substrate beneath the stucco may consistof a sheet structure such as Celotex®, a foam board that does not havethe structural integrity to accept fasteners.

To simplify the task of installing an electrical fixture on the exteriorof a building, the present inventor has provided several siding boxes.U.S. Pat. No. 5,804,764 to Gretz (hereinafter the '764 patent), forexample, provided a two-piece siding box and cover assembly thatincluded an UL-listed (Underwriters Labs) electrical junction box forhousing electrical connections. The box included a breakaway rearflange. For mounting on an unfinished exterior surface, the rear flangecould be retained and mounted on the wall. The exterior finish, such aslapped siding, could then be laid overtop the flange. Alternatively, formounting on a finished house, a hole could be cut in the lapped siding,the breakaway rear flange on the box removed, and the box mounted withinthe newly created hole to the substrate. Unfortunately, for thosesituations in which the substrate cannot accept fasteners, the mountingblock of the '764 patent was not entirely acceptable, as it forcedhomeowners to locate the box over a stud.

To provide more utility for mounting electrical fixtures to the exteriorof a building, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,051,786 and 6,239,368 (hereinafter the'786 and '368 patents) to Gretz provided a two-piece siding box having arear edge conforming to the profile of lapped siding to which it may beattached. This siding box enabled easy installation by simply laying therear edge over the lapped siding and driving fasteners directly into thesiding.

Although the '786 and '368 patents simplified the task of mountingelectrical fixtures to an exterior surface having lapped siding, thenumerous styles of lapped siding available made it necessary to provideseveral mounting blocks with various rear edge geometries to accommodatethe various lapped siding styles. In addition, the mounting block wasnot universal in that it was not easily used on flat surfaces.

Another drawback with the mounting block of the '764, '786, and '368patents was the fact that the mounting blocks and associated covers hadstraight edges, necessitating that the straight edge of the cover becarefully lined up with the edge of the lapped siding to create anattractive finished installation. For those installations in which ahole was cut in the siding to expose the substrate, it became imperativefor the homeowner to mark and cut very accurately to insure that theinstalled box and cover were lined up correctly with the siding.

Therefore, as can be seen from the above discussion, prior art sidingboxes suffer several disadvantages when used on surfaces having lappedsiding or a weak underlying substrate, such as foam board. When thesiding were removed for direct mounting to the substrate, it wasdifficult to cut an appropriate hole and align it exactly with thesiding. When the siding was retained, it was imperative to obtain amounting block with a rear edge with the proper geometry conforming tothe geometry of the actual siding it was mounted against.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a siding block including an electrical junction box anda cover for mounting a light fixture to the exterior of a building. Theelectrical junction box includes a back wall, a front peripheral wall,and a recessed area within the back wall having one or more removablewall sections within the recessed area. One or more of the removablewall sections can be removed and an electrical cable connector insertedtherein to provide strain relief attachment of an electrical cabletherein. The electrical junction box includes two or more posts integralwith and extending from the front peripheral wall and includingfastener-accepting portions. The cover includes a central opening and arear peripheral wall surrounding the central opening. The rearperipheral wall of the cover is adapted to slidingly engage the frontperipheral wall of the electrical junction box in such a manner that thefastener accepting portions of the posts are situated within the rearperipheral wall of the cover when the cover and the electrical junctionbox are slidingly engaged.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

The siding box assembly of the present invention provides an electricaljunction box that is UL-listed to meet the requirements of theelectrical code. It has the advantage of working on all siding types andcan be installed before or after the siding is installed.

By providing an electrical box in a circular shape, the siding boxassembly of the present invention greatly simplifies the task ofinstalling a light fixture on the exterior of a building. Prior artsiding boxes are typically rectangular, thereby requiring the installerto properly orient the straight edges of the rectangular box with thesiding of the house. Properly aligning a rectangular box consumes time.By providing a circular box and cover, the requirement to align edges iseliminated. Additionally, the box is provided in a size for which a themounting location can be prepared by using a simple hole saw, instead ofthe complex cuts required by a rectangular mount. Thus, site preparationis vastly simpler thereby making installation fast and easy.

The siding box assembly also eases installation by including anon-metallic (NM) cable connector in a recessed area in the back side ofthe junction box. An electrical cable can therefore be easily fedthrough the cable connector to provide electrical supply to the junctionbox.

The design of the siding box assembly allows the electrical box, cover,and NM cable connector to be produced by injection molding of plastics.This reduces production expense and thereby allows economical productionof the siding box assembly.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will bebetter understood by reading the following description along withreference to the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a siding box kit being used tomount a light fixture and including an electrical junction box and acover according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the electrical junction box of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is cross-sectional view of the electrical junction box takenalong lines 3—3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the electrical junctionbox taken along lines 4—4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the electrical junctionbox taken along lines 5—5 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the cover of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the cover taken along lines 7—7 ofFIG. 6.

TABLE OF NOMENCLATURE

The following is a listing of part numbers used in the drawings alongwith a brief description:

Part Number Description 20 siding box assembly 22 electrical junctionbox 24 cover 26 light fixture 28 vertical exterior surface of a building30 lapped siding 32 mounting bar 36 back wall of electrical junction box38 front surface of back wall 40 rear surface of back wall 42 frontperipheral wall of electrical junction box 44 interior volume ofelectrical junction box 48 base of front peripheral wall 50 planar topedge of front peripheral wall 52 first portion of back wall 54 raisedportion of back wall 56 recessed area 58 removable wall portions 60aperture in first portion of back wall 62 posts 64 inside surface offront peripheral wall 66 top of post 68 fastener-accepting aperture 69ear 70 aperture in ear 71 V-shaped cross-sectional perimeter 72 bridge74 gap 76 boss 78 perimeter wall 80 box-anchoring fastener 82 outerperiphery of cover 84 central opening of cover 86 front surface of cover88 rear surface of cover 90 rear peripheral wall 92 electrical supplycable 94 wiring leads of electrical supply 96 circular hole 98 substrate100  electrical supply opening 101  apertures in surrounding exteriorcovering 102  base of light fixture 104  apertures in base of lightfixture 108  mounting bar fastener 110  light fixture fasteners 112 fixture wiring leads 114  cap nuts 116  groove in rear peripheral wallof cover 118  C-shaped fitting

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a siding box assembly for mounting alight fixture on the exterior wall of a building. With reference to FIG.1 there is shown a siding box assembly 20 including an electricaljunction box 22 and a cover 24. The electrical junction box 22 and cover24 are used to mount a light fixture 26 to the vertical exterior surface28 of a building which in FIG. 1 consists of lapped siding 30. Amounting bar 32 is typically provided with the light fixture 26.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a preferred embodiment of an electricaljunction box 22 according to the present invention includes a back wall36 having a front surface 38, a rear surface 40, and a front peripheralwall 42 extending from the front surface 38 defining an interior volume44 therein. The front peripheral wall 42 of the electrical junction box22 includes a base 48 and a planar top edge 50. The back wall 36includes a first portion 52 planar with the base of the front peripheralwall 42 and a raised portion 54 interior of the first portion 52. Theraised portion 54 extends from the first portion 52 into the interiorvolume 44. The raised portion 54 defines a recessed area 56 in the rearsurface 40 of the back wall 36.

The electrical junction box 22 includes one or more removable wallportions 58 in the raised portion 54 of the back wall 36 and one or moreapertures 60 in the first portion 52. Two or more posts 62 are integralwith the inside surface 64 of the front peripheral wall 42 and extendfrom the base 48 to the top edge 50 of the electrical junction box 22.The posts 62 include a top 66 that is planar with the planar top edge 50of the front peripheral wall 42 of the electrical junction box 22. Theposts 62 include fastener-accepting apertures 68 in their tops 66.

The electrical junction box 22 also includes two or more ears 69integral with and extending outwardly from the front peripheral wall 42and including apertures 70 therein.

With reference to FIG. 4, a cross-sectional view of a portion of theelectrical junction box 22 shows part of the first portion 52 and theraised portion 54 of the back wall 36. The removable wall portions 58include a V-shaped cross-sectional perimeter 71 that separates theremovable wall portion 58 from the raised portion 54 except for two ormore bridges 72 that bridge the gap 74 between the perimeter 71 of theremovable wall portion 58 and the raised portion 54. The removable wallportions 58 can be removed by hand or by the use of a screwdriver tocreate an opening in the back wall 36 of the junction box 22.

Referring to FIG. 5, is a cross-sectional view is shown of the aperture60 in the first portion 52 of the back wall 36 of the electricaljunction box 22. A boss 76 extends from the front surface 38 of the backwall 36 to provide a perimeter wall 78 to encircle any box-anchoringfastener 80 that is inserted therein. The perimeter wall 78 shields thebox-anchoring fastener 80 from any wiring that is held within theelectrical junction box.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, a preferred embodiment of a cover 24according to the present invention is shown. The cover 24 includes anouter periphery 82, a central opening 84, a front surface 86, a rearsurface 88, and a rear peripheral wall 90 extending from the rearsurface 88 of the cover 24 and substantially surrounding the centralopening 84.

For operation of the present invention, reference should be taken theexploded perspective view of FIG. 1. The siding box assembly 20 of thepresent invention provides a method for mounting a light fixture 26 to avertical exterior surface 28 of a building. To install a light fixture26 a suitable mounting location is first located on the exterior surface28 of the building. The mounting location typically includes anelectrical supply such as an electrical cable 92 having wiring leads 94.The exterior vertical surface 28 of a building typically includes anexterior covering such as lapped siding 30. A circular hole 96 is firstcreated in the exterior covering 30 and the covering removed from thecircular hole to expose the substrate 98 of the exterior covering 30.One or more of the removable wall portions 58 are removed from the backwall 36 of the electrical junction box 22 to create an electrical supplyopening 100 therein. The electrical supply 92 of the building is thenpulled through the electrical supply opening 100 into the interiorvolume 44 of the electrical junction box 22. The electrical junction box22 is then placed into the circular hole 96 such that the rear surface40 of the electrical junction box 22 faces the substrate 98. Theelectrical junction box 22 is then secured to the building by drivingthe box-anchoring fasteners 80 through the apertures 70 in the ears 69and into apertures 101 in the surrounding exterior covering 30. Exteriorlight fixtures 26 for vertical surface mounting typically include a base102, apertures 104 in the base 102, a mounting bar 32, mounting barfasteners 108, light fixture fasteners 110 secured to the mounting bar32, fixture wiring leads 112; and cap nuts 114. The mounting bar 32 issecured to the fastener-accepting apertures 68 of the posts 62 with themounting bar fasteners 108. The cover 24 is then connected to theelectrical junction box 22 by sliding the rear peripheral wall 90 of thecover 24 onto the front peripheral wall 42 of the electrical junctionbox 22. The light fixture 26 is then secured to the siding box assembly20 by positioning the base 102 of the light fixture 26 with the baseapertures 104 over the fixture fasteners 110 which were previouslysecured to the siding assembly 20 and vertical exterior surface 28. Thecap nuts 114 are then threaded onto the fixture fasteners 110 andtightened to secure the light fixture 26 to the vertical exteriorsurface 28. At this point the installation is complete, with the sidingbox assembly 20 secured to the vertical exterior surface 28 and thelight fixture secured to the siding box assembly 20.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rear peripheral wall 90 of the cover 24 includesgrooves 116 to accommodate the posts 62 extending from the frontperipheral wall 42 of the electrical junction box 22. This allows thecover 24 to slidingly engage the electrical junction box 22 prior toattaching the mounting bar 32 to the electrical junction box 22. Thisallows greater access to the juncture of the box 22, cover 24, andvertical surface 28 to enable an installer to caulk or otherwise apply asealant around the periphery of the electrical junction box 22 to sealit against rain and moisture.

The preferred shape of the electrical junction box 22 and cover 24described herein is circular. This is to eliminate the requirement ofhaving to align any straight edges on the cover with the straight edgeof the lapped siding, or any other angular siding that may be installedon the vertical surface 28. The circular shape of the electricaljunction box 22 therefore greatly simplifies and reduces the timeinvolved in installing a light fixture. An especially preferredembodiment of the circular electrical junction box 22 has an outerdiameter of 4.0 inches. This enables an installer to prepare the desiredlocation by drilling a hole in the siding with a standard 4-inch holesaw, which is readily available for purchase at most hardware stores.Circular electrical junction boxes could also be produced in otherstandard sizes, such as 3-inch, and 5-inch if desired, and theappropriate size hole saw used to prepare a mounting location.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, any one of the removable wall portions 58could be removed to create an electrical supply opening 100 in the backwall 36 of the electrical junction box 22. An electrical supply cable 92could then be fed through the electrical supply opening 100 to provideelectrical supply to the interior volume 44 of the electrical junctionbox 22. Additionally, a C-shaped fitting 118, such as the Black Button™available from Arlington Industries, Inc., 1 Stauffer Industrial Place,Scranton, Pa., could be snapped into the electrical supply opening 100to provide a quick snap-in type fitting that provides strain relief toany electrical cable 92 inserted therethrough.

The siding box assembly 20 of the present invention is particularlysuitable to providing a mounting structure for an exterior light fixtureon a vertical exterior surface 28 for which a stud or other structuralmember is not available in the desired location for the light fixture26. For many framed structures, studs are typically spaced 16 inchesapart and the substrate connecting the studs is typically a foam boardsuch as Celotex®. The foam board substrate is not capable of supportinga light fixture. The outer covering of the building, such as lappedsiding, is typically stronger and structurally capable of supporting alight fixture. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, with lapped siding 30installed on the vertical exterior surface 28, the box-anchoringfasteners 80 are tightened into the lapped siding 30 to secure theelectrical junction box 22 to the vertical surface 28. Conversely, ifthe substrate were a structurally sound material such as plywood, or ifthe location for mounting the light fixture 26 were centered on a stud,the box-anchoring fasteners 80 could be tightened into the substrate 98to secure the electrical junction box 22 to the vertical surface 28. Inthis situation, the box-anchoring fasteners 80 would be secured throughthe apertures 60 in the first portion 52 of the back wall 36 to securethe electrical junction box 22 directly to the substrate 98. The sidingbox assembly 20 of the present invention provides the advantage of beingappropriate for all types of sidings commonly encountered on existingbuildings and new construction, including wood siding, vinyl siding,stucco, composite, shingles, and brick.

The siding box assembly 20 of the present invention has the advantage ofproviding an Underwriters Labs-listed box for enclosing all wiringconnections. A vast majority of exterior lighting fixtures that are soldcommercially today include only a metal mounting bar, bracket, orcrossbar that is typically screwed directly into the exterior siding ofthe building. The only volume available for electrical connections isbetween the base of the lighting fixture and the exterior wall. The baseis typically of shallow depth from the wall thereby forcing theinstaller to cram all electrical connections into the small volume ofthe base. This means that all the wiring connections are typicallycontacting the exterior siding of the building. The present inventionprovides a much greater degree of safety by providing a non-ignitableUnderwriters Labs approved electrical junction box for enclosing allwiring connections.

Typical dimensions for a circular-shaped electrical junction boxaccording to the present invention include an inside diameter of 3.84inches and a depth of 0.813 inch, therefore providing a large interiorvolume of approximately 9.4 cubic inches for enclosing the wiringconnections. This large volume provides a spacious area for holdingwiring connections and ensures that all wiring connections are enclosedin a UL-listed box. This provides a much greater level of protection incase of electrical shorts or surges than does the small enclosed volumecreated by the prior art practice of mounting the light fixture basedirectly against the siding.

Having thus described the invention with reference to a preferredembodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not so limitedby the description herein but is defined as follows by the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A siding box assembly for securing a lightfixture to a vertical surface comprising; an electrical junction boxincluding a back wall having a front surface, a rear surface, and afront peripheral wall extending from said front surface defining aninterior volume therein; two or more ears extending outwardly from saidfront peripheral wall, said ears including apertures therein; said frontperipheral wall of said electrical junction box having a base and aplanar top edge; two or more posts integral with said electricaljunction box extending from said base to said top edge; said postsincluding a top planar with said planar top edge of said frontperipheral wall of said electrical junction box; said posts includingfastener-accepting portions; two or more box-anchoring fasteners; and acover having an outer periphery, a central opening, a front and a rearsurface, and a rear peripheral wall extending from said rear surface ofsaid cover and substantially surrounding said central opening; whereinsaid box-anchoring fasteners secure said electrical junction box to saidvertical surface, said rear peripheral wall of said cover slidinglyengages said front peripheral wall of said electrical junction box, andsaid light fixture is secured to said electrical junction box therebycreating a completely enclosed electrical junction box for housing allelectrical connections to said light fixture.
 2. The siding box assemblyof claim 1 wherein grooves are provided in said rear peripheral wall ofsaid cover to accommodate said posts of said front peripheral wall ofsaid electrical junction box when said cover and said electricaljunction box are slidingly engaged.
 3. The siding box assembly of claim1 wherein said back wall of said electrical junction box furtherincludes a first portion planar with said base of said front peripheralwall of said electrical junction box; a raised portion interior of saidfirst portion, said raised portion extending from said first portioninto said interior volume of said electrical junction box; a recessedarea in said rear surface of said back wall of said electrical junctionbox; one or more apertures in said first portion of said back wall; andone or more removable wall portions in said raised portion.
 4. Thesiding box assembly of claim 3 wherein said removable wall portion isremoved to create a cable opening therein in said back wall of saidelectrical junction box.
 5. The siding box assembly of claim 3 wherein aportion of said vertical surface is removed to expose a substrate; andsaid apertures in said first portion of said back wall accept saidbox-anchoring fasteners to secure said electrical junction box to saidsubstrate.
 6. The siding box assembly of claim 5 that further includesraised walls surrounding said apertures in said first portion of saidback wall, said raised walls extending from said front surface of saidelectrical junction box and into said interior volume of said electricaljunction box.
 7. The siding box assembly of claim 3 wherein removal ofsaid removable wall portion from said raised portion allows a flushconnection by a C-shaped fitting to said rear surface of said back wallof said electrical junction box.